


Jasper Burns a World

by Discreet



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Prequel, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-26 00:08:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3829921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Discreet/pseuds/Discreet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A brief glimpse of Jasper before The Return</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jasper could feel the heat of the inferno surround her. Not simply through the skin of her bodily projection, but the core of her being. Even gems could melt at the right temperature, but Jasper couldn't help but enjoy the prickling of the heat.

"We should stop the guns." Her lieutenant spoke up, trying to hide her discomfort in the fire.

"Not yet." Jasper replied without looking.

The lieutenant coughed uselessly, more for the noise than anything, "The planet will be ash at this rate."

"Homeworld will understand."

"Will they?"

Jasper grinned and the flames flickered in her eyes. "These things happen in war."

* * *

 

"Jasper of the 5th Galactic Battalion, do you have anything to say in your defense?"

She sneered, "I defeated the enemies of Homeworld. I have nothing to apologize for."

The judge disagreed.

* * *

 

"My dear, whatever shall I do with you. The admiralty are most unhappy with you."

Jasper would've spat if she wasn't in the Authority's presence. "Let them. The penny-pinching cowards only care about their kindergartens. They don't know the battlefield."

"Quite right, my dear," Yellow Diamond pursed her lips, "But they hold power all the same. And your actions will have consequences."

Jasper snarled, "I won a great victory."

"You fought exceptionally well, but that's never been the issue has it?"

"The organics needed to be destroyed."

"And everything else? Did the whole world need destroying?"

Jasper bit her lip. She was not being saved. She was being lectured.

"There's not much point to conquering a planet if we only get to keep the ashes."

"I did what I had-"

"Enough of that." Yellow Diamond cut in, her tone becoming as hard as her name. "I understand your penchant for murder. And while I admire ruthlessness, I despise stupidity, so spare me your feeble excuses."

Jasper stood very still, as if the slightest movement would chip her gem.

"The admiralty want to shatter you, of course. 'Outlived her usefulness' they said."

"I can still-"

"Shut up, Jasper." Yellow Diamond waited patiently as Jasper tightened her lips before continuing on, "You will be pleased to know, that I disagree with the admiralty. In fact, I have a job that only you can do. Would you be interested?"

Jasper sighed with relief, "Of course. I'll do anything you ask."

"Well, first of all," Yellow Diamond smiled, "Do you remember the Crystal Gems?"


	2. Chapter 2

"There's something wrong with this one."

"Oh? What exactly?"

"Check the neural diagnostics. Her alpha rhythm is... strange."

"Hm. Yes, they do seem a little high."

"We can keep her under, work out the kinks."

"No, no need to go that far. We'll just see how she does in the field tests. If she gets smashed, well we have plenty more to work with."

* * *

* * *

* * *

The thuds echoed to the core of Jasper. Each vibration that traveled through her arms to the heart of her gem reminded her she was alive.

"The test is over, stand down!"

The red paste smeared her hands, stuck between her fingers, tightened her fists. It squelched with each thud.

"That's enough!"

Jasper swung with her fist again, the grin on her face stretching from ear to ear.

* * *

* * *

* * *

"Hello Jasper."

Jasper stared silently from her cot, every muscle tense as she assessed her visitor. This stranger wasn't like the other gems who had come to her cell. She was as tall as Jasper and although not as thick, there was power hidden in the easy way she held herself, as if the whole world were her plaything.

"I know you can speak." The stranger stepped into the cell, the door hanging open behind her, "We certainly took the effort to make sure of that."

Jasper's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

There was a giggle. "If I told you who I am, would you even understand?"

"What do you mean?"

The stranger made an exaggerated sigh, her smile never fading. "You're as raw as they come, just barely formed and you already act like you know everything. Really, how could you possibly hope to understand how blessed you are?"

Jasper snarled, "Just tell me who are."

"Oh, my dear," The stranger giggled again, "I'm the one who saved your life."

"Hah!" Jasper barked in disbelief.

"Ah, the arrogance of the young. Charming in its own way." The stranger took a step closer, putting herself just in arm's reach. "Tell me, Jasper. Why don't you obey the technician's orders?"

The cell door was still open. All that stood between Jasper and freedom was one crushed gem. Jasper looked back at the stranger, "Why should I? They're weak."

"Weak is hardly the right word. Their strengths simply lie elsewhere." She gave a sympathetic nod, "If you ever hope to survive, you'd do well to learn that we all have our roles to play. The technicians," The stranger waved a hand vaguely to her left, "Can do the technical work. The soldiers," She stirred her hand in Jasper's direction, "Can do the bloody work. And I -"

As the stranger flourished a hand to rest on her chest, Jasper sprang to her feet, her hands outstretched, one for the neck and the other for the gem at the chest. Jasper had found good leverage at the base of her cot and with the momentum of her dash, she'd pop the light body, crush the gem and barrel out the door without a moment's pause. From there, none of the technicians would be able to stop her and she'd be free to-

"I am Yellow Diamond."

A sheer white light blossomed from the stranger, Jasper's hands folded like paper against it. The light pushed on, smashing against the weight of Jasper's charge and knocking her back.

"I can do anything."

The light was pinning Jasper to the wall and yet still it pushed. Jasper wished she would just pop already. She couldn't even scream, there wasn't even room to open her mouth.

"But that doesn't mean I don't need tools." The light faded and Jasper crumpled atop the shattered remains of her cot. "Unfortunately, I can't be everywhere at once. I have to delegate."

Everything in Jasper ached, worst of all, her gem. If she retreated into her gem, she could heal, but her body wouldn't budge, not even to disintegrate. She sat there, barely upright against the wall, paralyzed.

"You are an exceptional brute. Not the kind we'd mass-produce, but useful nonetheless. I'd like to have you."

A hand touched Jasper's chin and lifted it. Yellow Diamond was smiling.

"Will you fight for me?"

Weakly, Jasper nodded.

As if she had a choice.


	3. Chapter 3

Jasper stared at the child, "Where did this one come from?"

Rose smiled as she lifted the child onto her knee, uncaring as the child's muddy feet brushed against the end of her dress. She brushed aside the child's hair clear from its face as if that did anything to tidy the tiny mudball. "She came from their settlement by the river. They fish there." Rose's eyes sparkled, "They _eat_ the fish."

The child was reaching into Rose's hair, tugging at the curls and Jasper tried not to notice the dirt beneath its nails. "Is that where their Kindergarten is?"

"They're organic, Jasper." Rose smiled patiently, "They don't have Kindergartens. Not like us."

Jasper scowled, but she held back the snarl. Rose wouldn't lie to her. "Then how do these organics build the next generation?"

A wide grin spread across her face. "It's them. Every single one of them is one half of a very small Kindergarten. The females are like the host planets and the males are like the injectors."

"That's..." Jasper blinked and quietly looked at the child tangling itself in Rose's hair, "How is that possible?"

Rose's voice was quiet, but the excitement was unmistakable. "They _evolved_."

* * *

* * *

* * *

Jasper's footsteps were quiet in the temple halls. Surprisingly, Yellow Diamond's were, as well. Still that didn't stop the temple gems from noticing the Diamond, each stopping in place to perform the two-handed salute until Jasper and Yellow Diamond had passed. Yellow Diamond did not so much as even look at them.

Instead she addressed Jasper. "How have your lessons been with Rose?"

"Strange," Jasper responded immediately, "She's been teaching me of the organics' cycle of life. Of their process of evolution."

"Oh?" Yellow Diamond glanced at Jasper without turning her head, her strolling pace imperturbable as she quietly inspected the temple. "And what have you learned of evolution?"

"The humans," Jasper stared thoughtfully at the spotless floor, "They don't have gems separating them into their roles, but the… variation. The sheer range of their possible forms, it's limitless."

Yellow Diamond stopped and Jasper nearly overstepped her, but she caught herself in time.

"The _organics_ ," Yellow Diamond stressed and Jasper silently winced, "Have many forms of mutation." Yellow Diamond turned to Jasper, her smile thin, "I suppose you would sympathize with that. However, even you were specifically constructed to be as effective as possible in your given role. You were a particularly successful experiment, unique to a degree, but never forget that every facet of your gem was shaped _purposefully_."

Yellow Diamond tapped at the temple wall and it shifted noiselessly, opening a view to the muddy green world below. Yellow Diamond pointed to a speck in the distance, smoke rising in the calm plumes that marked the human settlements. "The organics' process of reproduction is not only inefficient, but hopelessly unpredictable. They are just as likely to produce a failure as they are to produce a success. Without the capability to consciously construct the next generation their entire species winds up stagnant at best." Yellow Diamond sneered, her lips pulling back in disgust as the air of the planet wafted into the temple, "Rose called it a cycle and she was right. The organics spiral endlessly, going nowhere until they ultimately fade, their lives too brief to ever build upon the past." Yellow Diamond sighed, "A miserable existence, isn't it?"

Jasper bowed her head, "Yes, My Diamond."

Yellow Diamond waved a hand and the temple wall sealed shut and instead of letting her hand fall to her side, she gently placed it on Jasper's head and her thumb began stroking Jasper's hair. "I'm glad you understand, Jasper. You will be face-to-face with the organics more than most gems, perhaps not the ones here, but on other more… unruly planets. It's important you understand your role and why it is necessary."

Jasper kept herself very still beneath the giant hand on her head, "Yes, My Diamond."


End file.
